Frank Stella’s BMW Art Car Sells to Private Collector

Jonathan Sobel, owner of BMW of Southampton and a patron of the arts, has purchased Frank Stella’s BMW M1 Art Car. According to a press release, this also makes Mr. Sobel the perhaps even prouder owner of the highly esoteric title “the only private owner of an iconic BMW Art Car,” which will hereafter be known as The OPOOIBMWAC.

The OPOOIBMWAC acquired the car at a Bonhams auction in Pebble Beach in August. The car will be on view at The OPOOIBMWAC’s Southampton showroom, which opens at a new facility in 2012.

The OPOOIBMWAC enters quite an elite group—there are only 18 BMW Art Cars in the world (17 of them are owned by BMW, which is the characteristic that defines The OPOOIBMWAC as The OPOOIBMWAC), created by some of contemporary art’s greats like Alexander Calder, Jenny Holzer, Jeff Koons and Andy Warhold. Mr. Stella’s BMW M1 was commissioned in 1979. It contains the artist’s “Polar Coordinates” design and was created for Mr. Stella’s friend, the late racecar driver Peter Gregg.

A spokesperson did not have information about how much The OPOOIBMWAC purchased the car for, but its price was estimated between $450,000 and $600,000.

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[…] Search All NYTimes.comAutomobilesWorldU.S.N.Y. / RegionBusinessTechnologyScienceHealthSportsOpinionArtsStyleTravelJobsReal Estate AutosNew CarsUsed CarsCollectible CarsSell Your CarAll ClassifiedsmodifyNavigationDisplay();// if (typeof adxpos_TopAd != "undefined"){document.write(adxads[adxpos_TopAd]);} //// if((adxads[adxpos_TopAd]).indexOf("blank.gif")!=-1){ $("TopAd").hide()}; // October 4, 2011, 10:56 amWheelies: The Fraternité Edition By THE NEW YORK TIMESThomas Samson/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesAn Autolib official checking the plug system of the Pininfarina-designed E.V. in Paris on Sunday.In which we bring you motoring news from around the Web:• Resembling Vélib’, the city’s bicycle-share program, Paris inaugurated a two-month pilot test of Autolib, an electric-vehicle share program, last weekend. The venture is financed by Vincent Bolloré, a billionaire investor, who is expecting to commit 200 million euros, or $265 million, to the project. The supermini cars, custom-built by Pininfarina, the Italian coachbuilder, are expected to travel 250 kilometers on a single charge. Parisians must pay a 144-euro annual membership charge to participate in Autolib. The first half-hour of use costs an additional 5 euros, the second half hour 4 euros and each subsequent half hour 6 euros, a pricing regime meant to encourage short-term use. (The New York Times)• Johnson Controls, the Milwaukee-based engineering company, has bought out Saft, its partner in developing batteries for use in E.V.’s. In May, Johnson Controls announced that it would seek the dissolution of the partnership, saying that the venture was not moving with sufficient speed. Saft, meanwhile, said it would resist the breakup. Ultimately, Johnson Controls bought Saft’s share in the venture for $145 million cash. (The Detroit Free Press)• Citing insufficient demand, Volvo announced that it would close its plant in Uddevalla, Sweden, where the C70 hard-top convertible is produced, in 2013. The plant, co-owned by Pinifarina, which designed the C70, produced 10,000 examples of the car in 2010. The plant is functioning at 65 percent of its capacity, making it unprofitable, Volvo said. “A car manufacturer of Volvo’s size cannot, from a financial standpoint, justify a plant that manufactures one single model in the low volumes we have today,” said Stefan Jacoby, the brand’s chief executive, in a statement. (Bloomberg)• According to a report by Automotive News Europe, Fiat intends to build a compact Jeep at the automaker’s Mirafiori plant in Turin, which would slot below the Compass and Patriot. The model, whose name was not disclosed by Fiat, would begin production in the second half of 2013 and be sold in Europe, with North American sales a possibility. (Automotive News Europe)• The buyer of the BMW M1 art car painted by Frank Stella for his friend, the racer Peter Gregg, was identified on Monday. Jonathan Sobel, the owner of a BMW dealership in Southampton, England, bought the one-off vehicle at the Bonhams auction held during the Pebble Beach collector car festivities in August. Mr. Sobel intends to exhibit the M1 at the dealership’s new plant, which is scheduled for completion in 2012. (The New York Observer) […]

[…] • The buyer of the BMW M1 art car painted by Frank Stella for his friend, the racer Peter Gregg, was identified on Monday. Jonathan Sobel, the owner of a BMW dealership in Southampton, N.Y., bought the one-off vehicle at the Bonhams auction held during the Pebble Beach collector car festivities in August. Mr. Sobel intends to exhibit the M1 at the dealership’s new showroom. (The New York Observer) […]

[…] • The customer of a BMW M1 art automobile painted by Frank Stella for his friend, a racer Peter Gregg, was identified on Monday. Jonathan Sobel, a owners of a BMW dealership in Southampton, N.Y., bought a one-off automobile during a Bonhams auction hold during a Pebble Beach gourmet automobile festivities in August. Mr. Sobel intends to vaunt a M1 during a dealership’s new showroom. (The New York Observer) […]